He’s Back! Chael Sonnen Returns to Face Brian Stann at UFC 136 in Houston

Chael Sonnen will return to the cage after more than a year away from the sport when MMA’s resident bad boy will face Top 10 fighter and Marine veteran Brian Stann at UFC 136 in Houston.

Sources close to the match-up confirmed the bout to MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday. Heavy.com first reported the booking.

Chael Sonnen (25-11-1) makes his return to action for the first time since his loss to UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva last August. Sonnen controlled the fight for virtually every second up until Silva pulled out a Hail Mary triangle choke to get the win.

Since that time, Sonnen has been embroiled in controversy including a suspension from the California State Athletic Commission and being sentenced on Federal money laundering charges in Oregon.

Now the UFC’s professed “most interesting man in the world” will get back to his real business, and that’s in the cage.

Welcoming Sonnen back to the UFC will be Marine veteran Brian Stann (11-3) who has rocketed into the top ten of the middleweight division with back-to-back wins over Chris Leben and Jorge Santiago.

The former WEC light heavyweight champion dropped down to 185 pounds after a loss to Phil Davis in the UFC, and since that time has gone undefeated at middleweight.

The winner of the fight between Sonnen and Stann will likely be a prime candidate to fight for the UFC middleweight title at some point down the road.